Young, Dumb, and Dead
by KaoticBelle
Summary: Reign Kingsley was a freshman in college when the outbreak happened. Like everyone else she's trying to cope with losing almost everything she cares about. Now, she's just trying to keep herself and her new family alive so they can see the end of this hell on Earth. That is, if there even is an end.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Noah being in my top 3 characters in TWD (behind Richonne), I was a little disappointed with the lack of fanfics for him. This idea has been floating in my head for a minute. I also wanted to combine the story line of my two favorite characters from Telltale games TWD (Clementine and Lee). I haven't decided how long the story will be.**_

 **Chapter 1:**

Reign's POV:

I'm not entirely sure how I didn't see the world turn to shit in such a short amount of time. Maybe it was the fact that I was struggling to maintain at least a C in all courses for a major I absolutely hated. Maybe it was the anxiety of telling my parents I was changing my major that clouded my perception of everything around me. All I knew was the reality of the state of the world came crashing down around me the day before the university was overrun by those…those things. Whatever they are.

I remember my roommate, Marlene, running into our cramped dorm with a shopping cart filled with non-perishable foods, bottles of water, and other items meant for survival.

 **Flashback**

 _I was staring at my laptop trying to figure out how to start my research paper when Marlene suddenly burst into our dorm with a shopping cart. She let the door slam shut behind her as she searched the room frantically for something, gripping 2 handfuls of her dirty blonde hair in her hands. She was practically pulling her hair out._

 _She did this for a good minute before she took her backpack off of her back and dumped its contents in the middle of the floor. I knew whatever was wrong must've been serious when she let MacBook hit the hard laminate without so much as a glance in it's direction._

 _I closed my laptop and set it aside as I watched her pull a duffel bag out of the shopping cart and set it on the bed next to her back pack._

 _"Marlene," I called. I wasn't sure if she had heard me. She continued mumbling to herself as she packed. I would occasionally hear her mumble a random object, like toothbrush or soap, then she'd run to a part of the room to go retrieve the item._

 _"Marlene," I yelled. She whipped around to look at me with a terrified look in her eyes._

 _"What are you doing, Mars," I asked._

 _Without warning she gripped both of my shoulders tightly and looked intensely into my eyes._

 _"Look Reign," she said slowly. "I know you've been preoccupied with school work. And I know we joked about the crazy things we heard going on throughout the world. But what's going on right now is not bullshit. What we're seeing in the news about people eating each other is not a joke. It's real. It's gotten to the point of no return. And it's coming here."_

 _"What's coming here?"_

 _"Those pe-…things we saw on the news," Marlene explained. "They're real and they're coming here. And if we don't wanna die we have to get off campus. Quickly."_

 _She let me go and continued to pack essentials into her bags._

 _"But I thought the military and the government had it under control?"_

 _"They thought so too."_

 _I furrowed my brow in worry and frustration._

 _Marlene began to calm down then turned to face me._

 _"Look, we're in a position where we can't wait for the government to get their shit together. We could be dead and gone by the time that happens. We gotta help ourselves. Fuck the government."_

 _She reached into the bottom of the shopping cart and grabbed a duffel bag and backpack similar to her own. She tossed them both to me._

 _"Pack what you need and only what you need. Once you're done, if you have room for a small book or something go ahead."_

 _When the reality of the situation finally hit me I began to pack._

 _I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste off the counter of the sink. As well as a travel size stick of deodorant and two bars of soap from the cart._

 _I dropped to my knees and flung open the drawers under my bed. I kept all of my shoes down here._

 _"Here." I turned around and saw Marlene holding out a shoebox to me. I opened them and inside was a pair of black leather tactical boots._

 _"You only need two pairs of shoes," Marlene said. "Footwear takes up too much room. I went ahead and bought a pair of proper shoes for you. I suggest packing those combat boots. Pick a pair to wear for when we leave and pack the other."_

 _I didn't say anything as I set a side my new pair of boots and packed my combats into the duffel bag_

 _I grabbed small things that I knew would pay off in the long run. I grabbed a pack of thick wool socks from the cart as well as a pack of regular socks. I threw in the few good sports bras I had. I packed several pairs of underwear and rolled up 2 or 3 pairs of thick leggings. I found that rolling up clothes saved more space._

 _I also packed two neck warmers and a beanie and set aside another neck warmer and beanie to wear later. Because I knew it was chilly and windy._

 _I began packing clothes next. A couple of cotton t-shirts. A few long sleeved cotton shirts as well. Mars told me not to worry about packing pajamas. I packed a couple of pairs of dark-colored jeans, and the one pair of cargo pants I owned. I set aside my thick military jacket that was lined with faux fur and had a hood. I packed two sweaters, one thick and one light. I packed a hoodie with the school's logo on it. The last item of clothing I packed was a black leather jacket._

 _Once I finished packing I began to pack up the food and other items Marlene had brought back. I threw the keys to my car in my jacket pocket._

 _Once I had packed all of the essentials had room for one thing. I looked to my flute sitting on my desk._

 _I loved playing with all of my heart. Prior to enrolling at UG I dedicated more time playing than I did to anything else. I wanted to major in music but my parents talked me out of it. I was miserable majoring in Business._

 _I knew it wasn't practical to bring my instrument. I sighed and stashed my baby in the drawer under my bed. Instead I shoved a small book into the bag and zipped it closed. Maybe I could come back and get my flute later on._

 _I sat on my bed for a moment. I rifled through my head trying to make sure I didn't forget anything important. Not being able to think of anything else I may need to pack I began to get dressed. I traded in my worn converse for the black boots. I took off my flannel shirt and threw on a long-sleeved black shirt with my jacket. I slipped the neck warmer around my neck and braided my black shoulder length hair before putting the beanie on my head and putting my glasses back on._

 _As I was braiding my hair I realized that my hands were trembling. I clasped my hands together in an attempt to stop the shaking, but it wouldn't stop._

 _"Hey," Marlene called. I turned to her and saw her look at me with worry._

 _"I know you're scared, but it's gonna be okay," she said in reassurance._

 _She reached into her pack and pulled out what appeared to be a sheathed knife._

 _"I ran out of money while I was out getting stuff. The store I was at was so crowded and in such a tizzy, I just took it."_

 _She stuck it out to me and I cautiously took the weapon out of her hand._

 _"Thank you."_

 _I used the string attached the knife to tie it around my belt. The knife wasn't huge like a machete. I could hide it under my jacket easily._

 _Marlene was looking around the room for anything else we might need when her phone began to vibrate on her desk. She quickly answered._

 _"Hello?...Yeah we're ready…Two bags each…Who else is coming…Just you and Joey…Ok. Call me when you're outside," with that she hung up._

 _"That was Lance. Him and Joey are loading up the SUV now. They'll be here in 5 minutes."_

 _I looked out the window and the sun was setting._

 _"Are you sure they'll be here before it gets dark?"_

 _"Yeah. Of course."_

 _I was about to ask her where we were going to go once Lance got here. That was until I heard yelling throughout our floor. We peaked our heads out to the hallway and saw soldiers armed to the teeth banging on the doors of our floor mates. One of them was slumped against the main entrance to get to our floor. He was bleeding badly._

 _Once all of us were out of our shared rooms, the leader of them gathered us all and spoke to us._

 _He told us how the military had been sent to the north end of the campus to protect it so later on it could be used as a refugee camp. He told us how his orders required them to keep all of the residents where they are which meant we weren't allowed to leave. He informed us that because we were all adults, any attempt to disobey their orders could result in the loss of our lives._

 _The commander dismissed us and we made our way back to our rooms. I noticed that Marlene's shoulders were slumped in defeat._

 _"Marlene."_

 _Just as I said that her phone began to ring. She put it on speakerphone so I could hear._

 _"Hey Marlene," Lance yelled. "We're outside the dorm. Hurry up so we don't lose what little daylight we have left."_

 _"Lance, we can't leave," Marlene choked out. "The military are here. They won't let us leave. Just go without us."_

 _"I'm not leaving without you two!"_

 _"Well you have to. You have to leave campus or they'll keep you here too."_

 _I took the phone from Marlene and took it off of speakerphone._

 _"Lance, it's Reign."_

 _"Look, I already said I'm not leaving without you two."_

 _"How are we-"_

 _Before I could finish I heard yelling and the sound of heavy boots running through the hall outside._

 _"Hang on, Lance."_

 _I peeked out into the hall and saw the soldiers rushing to the entrance. The soldier that was bleeding out when he arrived was attacking the commander. He was snapping his jaws like a crocodile. The commander was struggling to keep his crazed soldier at bay but his soldier got close enough to latch onto his left ear and bite it clean off. Some of the girls were screaming as they watched. One of the soldiers emptied 4 bullets into the thing and wound up getting attacked by it. The things new victim still had the gun in his hand. He pulled the trigger as he was getting attacked and a few bullets went rogue. One went through the neck of another soldier and another hit one of the spectating girls in the shoulder._

 _I closed the door quietly._

 _"Lance, gives us a few minutes," I said._

 _I hung up and began moving stuff from in front of the window._

 _"What are you doing?" Marlene asked._

 _"Those soldiers brought one of those things with them, Marlene," I explained as I took down the curtains and tore down the blinds. "It's causing a commotion out there. We may not be able to walk out but we can sneak out while they're distracted."_

 _She looked towards the door as she heard more screaming._

 _"Help me, Marlene!"_

 _Mar snapped out of it and began to push our desks out of the way of the window. We struggled to move the TV that was stacked on top of the microwave and mini-fridge, causing Marlene to kick the appliances over in frustration._

 _Once everything was out of the way we dragged our bags over to the window and slid the glass up to open the window. We were only on the second floor so the drop wasn't that high. At the most we'd probably hurt an ankle if we fell wrong. The area below was a grassy courtyard. It was open with a straight shot to the parking lot where I could see Lance's SUV._

 _Marlene and I straddled the window ledge and tossed our bags out of the window._

 _I tightly gripped the window frame as I threw my other leg over the window ledge. I looked over to Marlene whose position was a mirror image of mine._

 _"I'll go first," she said._

 _She took a deep breath and let it out shakily. She closed her eyes for a second and jumped into the courtyard the same time she opened them._

 _When she hit the ground she rolled a bit. When she stood up to her full height she hopped around for a second before she began to walk normally._

 _She moved our bags out of the way and made sure she was a safe distance from the area below our window before giving me the okay to jump._

 _I gave a small nod. As I was bracing myself I heard scraping and banging against our door. Along with the scratching against the door I heard groans coming from the other side._

 _I didn't want to stick around and find out who or what was making that sound. I whipped around and closed my eyes as I jumped out the window._

 _My foot began to sting and tingle as soon as I hit the ground. I hadn't broken anything but it was painful. I walked off the uncomfortable stinging in my foot until it stopped._

 _"You good," Marlene asked._

 _"Yeah. I'm fine," I replied as I slung my backpack on my back and grabbed my duffle bag._

 _As discreetly as possible ran to the parking lot where Lance was waiting for us. I could barely see him and Joey through the tinted windows, but they could see us. Joey jumped out the passenger seat and made his way to the trunk. He threw it open and mouthed for us to hurry up. There were two duffel bags much larger than our own in the back. There was some camping gear. But what caught me off guard were the weapons. Several handguns with an alarming amount of ammo. Two shotguns, two assault rifles, and a sniper rifle were also there._

 _Our university allowed campus carry, but I don't think that means you can start a mini military base. I knew I didn't have time to ask so I just tossed my stuff into the trunk._

 _"Where we headed?" I asked as I buckled in._

 _"Uncle Hershel owns a farm on the countryside half an hour outside the city by car," Lance explained. "It's away from a lot of people. It should be good enough for a temporary safe spot."_

 _Lance turned making his way towards the center of campus to get onto the main street that leads straight out of the city._

 _As we got halfway down the road when we were forced to stop due to a roadblock._

 _"Shit!"_

 _"Chill out, Lance" Joey said. "Turn around and take the back road that goes around campus. It'll take us a little longer."_

 _Lance doubled back and took the back road. About 5 minutes in we saw another roadblock. There were tanks and armored trucks stationed behind it. The headlights on our SUV were turned off so we stopped before we got too close. The road had parallel parking spot on both sides. All of the spots were empty so Lance pulled into a spot and put it in park._

 _"You've gotta be shitting me," Marlene yelled._

 _There were soldiers guarding the area._

 _"We have ta' get outta here. They can't make us stay here," Lance said._

 _"What if we ditch the car," Joey suggested._

 _"Are you fucking crazy?" I exclaimed._

 _"Well, we're clearly not going to get out of here on wheels. Let's just get grab or stuff and go on foot."_

 _"Really, Joey? You want us to grab 6 bags, camping supplies, and a fuck ton of firearms and the hoof it all the way to my Uncles farm," Lance questioned._

 _"I'm just trying to help!"_

 _"Well, you're doing a shitty job! Think of something else."_

 _"Wait a minute," Marlene said. "Look."_

 _Marlene pointed towards the passenger side of the car where I was sitting._

 _I looked and the neighborhood that was across from campus was in a panic. I could faintly see several of those things shuffling through the neighborhood and attacking innocent people. Several of the inhabitants of the neighborhood evacuated their homes and were crossing the street. They were making their way to the military, clearly seeking protection._

 _"Fucking Hell," Lance whispered._

 _The monsters followed the panicked crowd. The citizens were in hysterics as they begged the soldiers to stop the monsters. There were many gunshots and several of the things went down. But there were too many and they overpowered the soldiers._

 _We were so distracted by the scene before us, that we barely noticed the small heard of monsters making their way to our vehicle._

 _"Holy shit!"_

 _Lance put the car in reverse and made his way through campus._

 _"Where do we go? Fuck, I don't know where to go," Lance mumbled to himself._

 _Driving through campus we could see a few of the people-eating monsters standing there, staring blankly._

 _"Lance. Do you know where the Weeks Hall is," Marlene asked._

 _"Yeah, but it's abandoned, Mar."_

 _"Exactly."_

 _Weeks Hall was evacuated and abandoned in the early 1990s due to the large amounts of asbestos found throughout the residence hall. The University didn't have the funds to treat the asbestos like they did with the other dorms so they simply closed it off for good. Students still sneak inside, for whatever reason. After the first few years of it being closed, campus police gave up on keeping students out of the area. It was about 10 minutes away from the main area of campus because it was a dorm for juniors and seniors._

 _We pulled up outside the fences that blocked off the entirety of Weeks Hall, even the parking lot. Joey hopped out of the car and pulled apart the make shift chain link fence so we could drive the car inside._

 _Joey hopped back in the car and Lance drove around parking lot until he found a spot close to one of the back entrances of the residence hall._

 _"Should we really be staying here?" I asked. "The asbestos-."_

 _"Well we can't stay outside. Sleeping in the car is not an option," Lance explained._

 _"Besides, we'll only be here for a few hours. At the most 'til early morning," Joey added. "If we can figure out a way to get off campus by car 10 pm we'll leave."_

 _"You girls okay with sleeping in the clothes you have on? None of the asbestos is exposed but if we wanna be cautious we should keep our other food and clothes out of it."_

 _"Yeah, we'll be fine," Marlene answered._

 _"Ok. But if you're hungry or thirsty at all you better drink or eat right now. Don't eat or drink inside at all."_

 _We got out of the car and Lance popped the trunk to the SUV so we could get what we need for the night._

 _I downed half a bottle of water and scarfed down a granola bar. Marlene ate drank an entire bottle of water. Lance and Joey moved around the bags to get to their weapons. They both grabbed a handgun, fully loaded, and pocketed an extra magazine._

 _"Ya'll ready?"_

 _"Yeah, we're good."_

 _"Let's go."_

 _The building was shut down before the University began scanning student IDs to gain access to the residential area of halls. The lock on the entrance was broken off so the door was left wide open._

 _Once we got inside, Lance and Joey pushed an old desk up against the entrance to keep it closed. We rested close by just incase we needed to get out. I wound up taking a nap while Lance and Joey talked about alternative routes out of the university._

 _Marlene woke me up a while later._

 _"Hey, Reign. We've got a plan."_

 _"Ok. How long was I out?"_

 _"About an hour. It's 9 o'clock."_

 _"So we're leaving tonight?"_

 _"Yeah," Lance said. "Now bear with us on this. We're gonna take our original route."_

 _"But there's a roadblock."_

 _"Yeah but it was more of a makeshift roadblock," Lance explained. "The barricades were plastic. Easy to move. Hell, if we wanted to we could mow 'em down in the truck and keep driving."_

 _"Reign, it's the fastest way off campus. And at this point, the sooner we get off campus the better."_

 _"Well, it's better than nothing."_

 _So you'll go," Marlene asked._

 _"Of course!"_

 _"Good," Joey replied. "Because we already kinda agreed that if you didn't that we were gonna leave you here."_

 _I looked at Joey in disbelief._

 _"Are you fucking serious?"_

 _He shrugged nonchalantly. "I wanna live," he replied._

 _"You traitorous bastards."_

 _"Enough," Lance scolded. "Start packing up. We gotta leave right now."_

 _ **A/N: So there's the first chapter. It's pretty lengthy. It honestly took me a long time to figure out when was an appropriate time to stop. RnR you guys. Another chapter will probably be up at the end of the week.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a continuation of the flashback from the last chapter. Enjoy ^_^**

 **Chapter 2:**

Reign's POV:

 _Once we packed our stuff into the truck, Lance drove to the exit._

 _Joey had closed the fence when we entered the parking lot of the abandoned residence hall, which meant he had to open the gate for Lance._

 _Joey hopped out the car and pushed the chain link fence until there was enough room for Lance to get through. It was dark now so the streetlights were on but they were dim. Joey stood directly under the glow of one of them._

 _As Joey waited for us to pull up, I saw a figure emerge from the shadows behind him. The light was so faint and my eyesight was so bad at night that I thought my mind was playing tricks on me at first. It was clearly one of those things. Its eyes were devoid of any emotion and they were cloudy as well. Almost like it had cataracts. There was a huge chunk of flesh missing from the base of his neck._

 _Lance noticed it as quickly as I did. He quickly braked and put the truck in park. Causing Marlene and I to lurch forward._

 _Lance jumped out of the truck with his pistol aimed._

 _"Joey move," he ordered._

 _Joey lunged to the side just as the monster swiped at him. Lance immediately emptied 5 rounds into the things chest._

 _It was knocked back several steps by the force of the bullets until it was flat on its back. Joey was still on the ground in disbelief, several feet away from it._

 _"Dude, what the hell?"_

 _"What did you want me to do," Lance argued back at Joey. "He was gonna hurt you."_

 _"You just killed a man!"_

 _"I don't think he's dead," Marlene interjected._

 _We looked to the figure and we noticed that he was still growling and moaning. Its hands and fingers writhed and contorted in the dirt._

 _The thing slowly sat up and growled at all of us._

 _"Oh my fuck," Joey whispered._

 _Joey's comment drew the things attention to him. It began to clamber to its feet. Its sights were on Joey._

 _Joey scrambled to the truck and flung open the passengers side door. Lance was already in the truck ready to take off. Joey slammed the door shut just in time. The creature threw itself against the door and began clawing and banging at the window._

 _"Lance drive," Marlene ordered. All of our eyes were fixated on the thing that looked living and dead at the same time._

 _"Lance," Marlene called._

 _No response._

 _I looked in the distance and saw several figures approaching us._

 _"Fucking drive Lance," I yelled._

 _He snapped out of it and slammed his foot on the gas._

 _Once we got a safe distance away the panic started up._

 _"What kind of person survives 5 bullets to the chest," Joey yelled._

 _"That wasn't a person," Marlene said back. "It was something but it wasn't a person."_

 _"Well please enlighten me Mars," Joey snapped sarcastically._

 _"Drop the 'tude Joey."_

 _"Did you guys even recognize who that was," Lance asked in a slightly spaced out tone._

 _No one answered._

 _"That was Professor Holden."_

 _"What," I said in disbelief. "No way is that Holden. I had a class with him a noon earlier today. What could've happened to him that he looks like that in less than a couple of hours?"_

 _Holden was one of the professors for the music program at our school. He was young to have such a prestigious job. He obtained his masters a little over a year ago. He took over as the professor for trumpet this school year after the previous one retired due to health complications. Holden was only 28._

 _Holden looked so lively earlier today. But now, he looked like he'd been dead for over a week._

 _"It's whatever is going around," Lance replied. "That disease."_

 _"I don't know where it started. I don't think anyone really does. All I know is that all of a sudden there were numerous reports of "people" attacking other people. Trying to bite or eat them. Then the people that got bit would die then "come back to life" and do the same thing."_

 _We were already half way to our destination._

 _"It seemed like the government had it under control for a second," Marlene added. "Then for the past couple of weeks the whole world began spiraling out of control. Out of nowhere major cities were either getting evacuated or shut down. People were being forced on to military bases by the government. Airports and train stations were permanently shut down."_

 _All this did was make me wonder, what would've happened to me if Marlene hadn't warned me. What if she had never came back to the dorm and just left with Lance and Joey? I was so caught up in my stress I didn't notice how quickly the world was crumbling around me. I'd probably still be in the dorm oblivious to whatever it was scraping on the other side of the door. I'd probably be dead or one of them. And if not, I'd probably be stumbling around campus, hopeless and clueless to everything going on._

 _"There's no time to be concerned with how it happened. That time has long passed and it's too late to try, at least in this moment," Lance said. "Let's focus our energy on getting out of the city first. Cities are the ones having the most trouble with these things and get overpowered quickly. Once we get out of the city, we stay out of the city."_

 _We could see the main entrance/exit in the distance. There were more of those things than before. Joey getting out to move the roadblocks wasn't going to be an option._

 _Just like Lance and Joey said, the roadblocks were flimsy plastic ones. Due to our position, it was a straight shot to the main exit._

 _Lance put the truck in park and turned off the headlights._

 _"Seatbelts on guys," he ordered._

 _We did as told. He put the car in drive but pressed on the brake to keep the car still._

 _"You guys ready," he asked._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Alrighty then."_

 _He took a deep breath and let it out. It only took a split second for him to take his foot off the brake and slam it on the gas._

 _The tires screeched against the pavement. The truck surged towards the exit. Those things heard us coming but they weren't quick enough to get to us before the truck mowed down the roadblocks. As soon as that happened Lance pressed on the brakes to keep the truck from running into any of the buildings across from campus. He turned his wheel completely to the right before taking off down the road. He skipped all of the entrances to get on the highway and took the back road that led to the countryside. He kept his foot firmly on the gas and didn't let up until we passed a sign that let us know we were leaving Athens._

 **End of Flashback**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Reign's POV:

It was a straight shot to Lance's uncles farm. Other than the road barely being visible and animals running onto the road with out warning, we didn't run into any more trouble.

Hershel was Lance's uncle. He owned the farm and it had been in his family for generations. Lance's parents died several years ago, and Hershel raised him like his own. Lance was studying agriculture to help Hershel out with the farm.

I'd met Hershel a few times since I've been at the university. Hershel would invite a few of us to eat a nice home-cooked meal at his place a couple of times a month.

Hershel age showed, clear as day but his eyes were kind. He wasn't god-fearing but he certainly followed his scriptures.

He had two daughters and a son. Maggie, Beth, and Shawn. Shawn was here but Maggie and Beth were handling something. From what I knew Maggie and Shawn were had the same mother. Beth was born out of Hershel's second marriage. He remarried after his wife died a few years back. I never had the opportunity of really striking up a good conversation with any of his children. They weren't around when we visited.

When we arrived at his farm, we hurried inside. I don't know how I was able to do it, but once Hershel got our blankets laid out on the living room floor, I was out like a light.

I awoke to Joey and Lance silently arguing with Hershel in the kitchen.

There was a couple in their late 30s to early 40s. They had a son that looked to be about 10 or so. He was a jittery little thing. The man looked like your typical red neck. He had a 'stache that could best be described as a Hulk Hogan mustache. He wore a truckers' cap. His wife was plump and kind looking.

The other 2 looked to be African American. There was a little girl who looked to be about 9 or 8. She was slender with a cute, innocent look in her eyes. There was a substantial amount of thick, afro-like black hair, similar to my own, tucked underneath a baseball cap. She was wearing a dirty, cream-colored, knee length dress with gray tights and black flats.

I remember them arriving with Shawn and his friend last night. Shawn had saved them and brought them to Hershel's farm. The man had a busted leg but Hershel patched him up real good.

The little girl had a tight grip on a black mans hand. And I recognized him all too well.

He used to teach History at my University before he was arrested and, later on, fired. The rumors of what happened and why vary but they all have something to do with him taking a life.

The only thing I did know was that his name was Lee Everett.

I looked at him warily. Last I heard, he should've been in prison, or on his way there.

"Hershel, you don't understand," Joey pleaded. "We won't survive if we don't have weapons. Those things are dangerous."

"They're still people," Hershel explained. "It'll pass. It's just a sickness."

"Uncle Hershel, are you out of your mind," Lance exclaimed. "These things aren't people. This is a plague. A plague that wakes the dead so they can eat flesh off of living people so they can do the same. It's a never-ending cycle and the only way to keep the living alive is to kill these things."

I stepped over a sleeping Marlene and propped myself up against the kitchen doorframe. Hershel was clearly irritated now.

"Now you two listen here," Hershel reprimanded. "I do not care what the news says. This is an over reaction. To kill people just because they are sic-"

"Hershel! They are not sick. They are dead," Lance bit back putting emphasis on his last word.

"Clem," Lee said. "Stay here."

"No," she whispered back. "I wanna stay with you, Lee."

"It'll be okay Clementine. I just need to have a talk with Hershel. Why don't you go and help Katjaa out with some work? She's out by the barn."

"If you say so," she pouted.

"Atta girl." Lee patted her shoulder reassuringly before going into the kitchen to speak to Hershel.

I looked back to the front door to see if Clementine had left yet. But she just stood next to the door with a worried look on her face. Like she needed help. The others that Hershel had taken in were still asleep. And the ones that weren't were preoccupied.

I maneuvered through the maze of sleeping bodies in Hershel's small living room over to Clementine. Once I was in front of her I knelt so I could make eye contact with her.

"Clementine, right?" I asked in a low whisper. She nodded.

"You have a pretty name. I'm Reign."

"You mean like the weather?"

"More like when a Queen ruling over a country. But you're still close"

She gave me a shy smile.

"Well, Clementine I couldn't help but notice that you looked like you need help. Is something wrong?"

"Well…Lee told me to go help Katjaa out by the barn but I don't wanna go out there alone." Her words came out a bit frantically.

"Oh sweetie. The barn is just out front."

"I know but those 'things', they scare me. I'm just a kid. What if one of them shows up and no one is there to help?"

I couldn't blame the kid for being scared. I was scared and I doubt that there wasn't a man, woman, or child on this Earth that wasn't right now. They were straight out of your worst nightmares.

"If you want I could go out to the barn with you," I offered.

"That would be nice."

I stood to my full height and walked out to the barn with Clementine. Katjaa was sitting in the trunk of a red pick-up truck while her husband worked on it under the hood. Their son was talking Katjaa's ears off.

"Well hello there Clementine," Katjaa greeted. "Did you come to help me get some work done before breakfast?"

"Yes ma'am," she answered shyly.

"I just wanted to make sure she got out here safely. It's dangerous out here."

"I didn't catch your name," Katjaa said.

"I'm Reign," I stretched out my hand to shake hers. "I go to school with Hershel's nephew. Or at least I used to."

"How are you doing in all of this?" She asked.

"As good as anyone else I guess. The whole thing sort of snuck up on me. I was so stressed out by school that I just assumed the government would resolve it. When Marlene told me those things were heading right for the campus and we needed to leave, I froze up."

"That must've been terrifying for you."

"It was. Had it not been for Joey and Lance we would've been trapped at that University by the military and god knows what else. It took us all night to find a way off campus."

"Well the important thing is that you're here now and you are safe. I'm Kenny bby the way. We had a couple of close calls too. One of those dead things attacked my son. I assumed he was trying to kidnap him or something. When I pulled the fucker off of him it took me two seconds to realize he was one of those dead sons of bitches."

"What did you do to him," I asked.

"I-I bashed his skull in."

"Oh."

There was a long awkward pause. Katjaa broke it.

"So, do you have any idea where you plan on going," she asked.

"I never actually thought about it," I admitted. "I don't wanna be a burden on Hershel he said his family should be on their way back. I want to go find my parents but they're all the way in Texas. I haven't the slightest clue how to get down there."

"Well, you're always welcome to catch a ride with us until you figure out something," Katjaa said.

"That's very nice of you."

I headed back to the house. Lee and Shawn stepped out of the house. Lee hobbled over towards Clementine and Shawn went to work on the fence. Duck had joined him saying he wanted to "drive" the tractor.

I saw Lance and Joey on their way out towards the car. They both got in and Lance yelled to me out of the passenger window.

"We're gonna go pick up Maggie and Beth from the Smith's. We should be back in 30 minutes."

I went inside and Marlene was awake.

"Hey," Marlene greeted. "How'd ya sleep?"

"As good as you can on less than 5 hours of sleep."

I sat on the couch opposite of her. She was worried. I didn't have to ask her to know that.

"What are we gonna do, Reign?"

"I don't know, Mars. I guess we just survive."

"It's only been a day and we're already talking about survival. Not living life anymore. Just surviving. Just EXISTING."

"We don't know what comes after this, Marlene. It may stop."

"It may. But I doubt it."

Out of nowhere we heard the roar of an engine followed by a man's scream from outside of the house.

Marlene and I ran outside and followed the screams to the backyard. Shawn was trapped underneath the tractor, which Duck must've accidentally started. There were three walkers up against the fence that Shawn had been working on. One had grabbed Duck while the other two were still trying to get at Shawn. Clementine stood several feet away frozen with fear. And so was I.

I wanted to help. I needed to help. I should've ran up and tried to save Duck or Shawn. Or killed one of the walkers. But I couldn't force my body to move. Instead I watched in shock as Kenny saved Duck and Lee tried to push the tractor off of Shawn.

I heard the sound of wooden planks splintering as it broke under the weight of the 2 walkers leaning against it. One took a mouthful out of Shawn's trapped leg while the other took a huge bite from Shawn's neck.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out and left my right ear ringing. We looked behind us to see Hershel holding a shotgun. He got closer to the horrific scene and cocked the shotgun each time as he took out the other two walkers.

He let the gun fall in defeat as he dropped to his knees in front of his dying son. Shawn could barely get out his last words as he choked on his own blood.

"I'm okay, Pop," Shawn whispered out.

Maybe it was the shock of being bit or the trust and faith that he in Hershel's ability. Or maybe him trying to put on a brave face in his last moments. But Shawn was far from okay.

But I heard Hershel loud and clear.

"I can fix you," Hershel said in reassurance. He said it with such conviction that I honestly thought he might be able to.

"They almost got me," Shawn said with a slight chuckle. "Lee tried to save me."

"I know, son."

Shawn then sighed his last breath and closed his eyes. Hershel stroked his hair the entire time. He was gone.

Hershel laid his head next to his son. Stroking Shawn's bloodstained cheek. It was then that Kenny and his family had returned.

Other than the roar of the tractors engine it was quiet. Almost like a moment of silence for Shawn.

It was short lived and the next words that were spoken made my blood run cold.

Hershel slowly rose to his feet still staring at his son's dead body as his whispered command rumbled through my ears and sent a shiver down my spine.

"Get out."

"Get the fuck outta here! Every last one of you!"

Kenny mustered up the courage to offer a pitiful apology. It was more than Marlene or I could offer.

"Sorry? Your son is alive," he snapped. "You don't get to be sorry!"

Hershel turned to Lee and thanked him for trying to save Shawn and called Kenny a piece of shit for letting him die.

"And you two," Hershel yells at Marlene and I. "You just stood there and watched as my boy suffered. You could've saved him! You should've helped!"

It was best not to add insult to injury. There is no excuse we could've offered as to why we just stood there and watched someone die. Even if it was due to being frozen with fear.

"I don't care if you're my nephew's friends. You better be gone before he returns. And don't ever let me see you around here ever again!"

"Lee, you better pray to God that you don't have to count on these cowards to save you or that little girl if you're ever in danger. Now get out and don't come back!"

Hershel stormed off back to his house. We heard his door slam.

"Ya'll got that ride to Macon if you want it," Kenny said.

* * *

It took us less than 30 minutes to gather our things and load them into the truck. I could still hear the tractor running.

Lee determined that it wasn't safe for any of us to sit in the bed of Kenny's truck. Lee had Clementine sit on his lap and Duck sat up front with Katjaa, who was happy to comfort her son through this traumatic experience. Marlene and I squeezed into the two remaining seats in the cab of the truck. I occupied the middle seat in between my friend and Lee Everett.

We were waiting on Kenny, who had insisted he forgot something. A few seconds later, we saw him jogging out towards the truck with a black bag slung over his shoulder. I could see the barrels of multiple rifles and shotguns protruding from the bag.

He made his way around to the driver's side and slung the bag of guns in the space where Katjaa was sitting.

"Kenny," Katjaa said, worry coating her tone. "These are not ours. What if Hershel saw you? How many did you take? Did you even leave him with anything to defend himself?"

"Relax Katjaa. I figured if he's gonna kick us out the least he could do was provide a "parting gift". When those college kids arrived last night I stashed a few guns away in case we needed to leave. He has a shit ton of guns. And don't worry he didn't see me. He's busy, tending to his son."

Silence again.

Kenny started up the truck and made his way down the long stretch of road ahead. There was no hope of us seeing Lance and Joey and having them convince Hershel to let us stay. They had drove in the opposite direction. And even then, I doubt they would vouch for us after finding out we did nothing to save Shawn from his horrible end.

I looked back as Hershel's farm, a potential safe haven in this fucked up world, became smaller and more distant as we covered more road. I could see Hershel roll what looked like a wheelbarrow into his barn. Moments later he emerged and shut the doors to the barn. That is the last thing I saw him do before he shrunk into the distance.

* * *

 **A/N: It's been a minute huh? Anyway, in order to visualize what these characters would look like here is a list.**

 **Reign Kingsley: Yaya DaCosta (when she was on ANTM)**

 **Marlene: Analeigh Tipton (from "Warm Bodies")**

 **Lee Everett: Idris Elba (obviously)**

 **Clementine: Amandla Stenberg (when she played young Cataleya in Colombiana)**

 **Duck: Ryan Malgarini (he played that annoying younger brother in Freaky Friday)**

 **Kenny: Michael Kelly (from Dawn of the Dead)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure why my story hasn't been updated since last year. I know for a fact that I added a new chapter about a month ago. Maybe it's because I had started writing chapter 3 last year (which doesn't make any sense).

If the dialogue seems familiar it's because I am trying to not stray away from the original storyline too much. But rather incorporate my own characters and ideas for the show and game and eventually combine them.

Please leave feedback and reviews on ways to improve this story. I'd really appreciate it.

* * *

Reign POV:

We had barely made it to Macon before Kenny's truck ran out of gas. I fell asleep halfway through the ride.

"Well, looks like this is as far as we can go," Kenny said getting out the car.

"Well, then it's far enough," Lee replied.

We all got out and started to look for some help. Possibly some more gas. I took my bag out and slung it over my shoulder, just in case.

We barely made it far from the truck before Lee lingered in front of a drugstore on the corner.

"Hey, look," Duck yelled and pointed in the direction of a person hunched over behind some turned over cars.

"Hey there," Kenny yelled and waved his arms in the air to get their attention. "You friendly? Truck's run outta gas."

The person turned around at the sound of Kenny's voice. It was then that we realized he wasn't a person. Well…not anymore.

"Shit!"

More of them emerged from behind the tipped over cars, growling and snarling as they did.

"Fuck," I said as I looked over my shoulder. "There are more over there."

"Gah! NO!"

I looked back to see Duck screaming as one of the walkers fell on top of him.

Then, out of nowhere, a gunshot rang out and the walkers brains splattered all over Duck.

There were then two new people among us. Actual people. A woman with a short brown bob and her gun aimed at the walker that attacked Duck. The other was an Asian man with a baseball cap on his head. He was standing in front of the drugstore with the gate open.

"RUN," he yelled.

Kenny picked up Duck off of the ground and ran into the drugstore. The rest of us followed suit while the woman continued to shoot at walkers a few more times. She then followed us in and so did the man.

We were immediately met with angry woman with long brown hair. A tall burly, older, grey haired man stood next to her with an equally angry expression. A man with short blonde hair was looking out the window of the store.

The angry woman then proceeded to chew out the girl who helped us.

"When I say 'that door stays shut no matter what' I fucking mean it," she hissed. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous!"

"Or worse, they could've led 'em right to us," the older man added.

"Whoa, we have kids here, man," I spoke up.

"Who cares," the man yelled back at me.

"See. They just got here and they are already causing problems," the woman said. "You shouldn't have let them in."

"Whoa, chill the fuck out lady," Lee snapped. "We're just people trying to avoid those things. Just like you!"

"Don't you dare come in here and swear at me!"

"I'll say whatever I want if you start threatening these people."

"Sorry," the shorthaired girl said. "You'll have to excuse her."

"Like hell you will. This is about survival. Do you not see what's happening?"

I saw Clementine grab onto Lee's hand and whisper, "I have to pee."

"In a minute, Clem."

"Lilly, they have kids," the Asian man said, trying to reason with the woman.

"Those things outside don't care," Lilly replied in a callous tone.

"Heartless bitch," Marlene scoffed.

"Maybe you should go join 'em," Kenny said. "You'll have something in common."

"Godammit Lilly," the older man said. "Control these people!"

"Carley and Glenn are the ones that just ran out there!"

"Well, she's an asshole that's for sure," Lee whispered back to our group.

"That's what it takes."

"Holy shit. Fucking shit! One of them is bit," the older man whispered. He was staring at Duck and Katjaa.

"He wasn't bitten," Lee replied.

"Like hell he wasn't! We're ending this. Now!"

The man began to make his way over to Duck, a determined look on his face, until Kenny stepped between them.

"Over my dead body!"

"We'll dig one hole."

"I'm sorry but who the hell do you think you are to threaten a child like that?" I snapped. "You need to back up!"

"He won't be for long."

"I'm cleaning him up! There is no bite," Katjaa pleaded while wiping Duck down with urgency.

"Don't you people get it?! We've seen this before! We let someone with a bite stay and we all end up bitten! We've gotta throw him out! Or-or smash his head in!"

"Kenny, please! Stop him," Katjaa yelled.

"Lee, help me out here. What do we do," Kenny asked. He must've trusted Lee's judgment from on the farm.

"We reason with him," Lee replied.

"With the bloody end of an axe-handle!"

"Fuck that! Kick his ass Kenny," Marlene said, giving her two-cents. "It's either him or Duck!"

"Everyone chill the fuck out," Carley commanded.

"No one is doing anything," Lilly retorted.

"Shut up, Lilly," the older man ordered. Who exactly is the leader here?

"And you," he said turning to Carley. "Shut up! They will find us, they will get in here and none of this will matter! But right now, we're about to be trapped in here with one of those things!"

"Fuck you, Larry," Carley snapped.

"What the hell are you goin' on about," Kenny asked.

"He's bitten! That's how ya turn!"

"He's not bitten! Lee, please stop this! It's upsetting Duck," Katjaa said.

"What if it was your girl," Lee said trying to coax sympathy out of this asshole.

"That wouldn't happen!"

"Well it's 'his' son," I added. "You don't go around threatening to kill someone else's kid! That's not your decision to make!"

"Look around, girl," Larry said. "I've got family in here. You've got family in here-"

"Well so do Katjaa and Kenny," Marlene interrupted.

"Get your head outta your ass, girl!"

"We've all got people we care about in here," Lee yelled. "We can figure this out without killing anyone. There is another way."

"Yeah, with a shovel."

"Even if he is bit, which he isn't, he's just a kid," Marlene said. "All that weight on you, all of these grown adults in here but you're scared of a little boy turning and getting the best of you?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying you're a punk! You're big ass is shitting your pants about a little boy possibly turning."

"You wanna be stuck in here with one of those things?!"

"He's not bit," Katjaa insisted.

"I'm gonna kill him, Kat," Kenny declared. "You just worry about Duck."

Clementine began to yell across the store to Lee about the bathroom door being locked.

"The key's probably behind the counter, Clem," Lee replied.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just looking out for my daughter," Larry said.

"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid," Kenny corrected.

"He's covered in muck. She'll find the bite. Just watch!"

"She. Won't."

"And if she does," Larry asked sinisterly. "The first thing he'll do is sink his teeth into his mother's face."

"Then, when she's dead, I bet he'll make a nice little meal out of your daughter's next." He was talking to Lee now. "Especially the little one."

"We'll deal with it then. But right now your ass is making a big deal out of nothing," Lee said.

"Well you better be ready to deal with it, because that boy is bitten!"

"It's not gonna happen," Kenny ground out.

"It is. And we're tossing him out now!"

"No," Lee snapped. "You don't touch that boy. You don't touch anybody! I've got people I'm trying to protect in here too."

Lee began to approach Larry, seemingly ready to fight.

"You wanna get violent you old fuck?! Well, come on! You better have a plan to kill me though, because it's me before anyone else in here!"

"AAAHHH!"

Clementine's scream rang out throughout the drugstore. I looked to the bathroom door where she was before. The door was open and a walker fell out and began to crawl towards her.

"Clementine!"

Lee began to half run half limp to Clementine's rescue but fell after bumping into Lilly.

I took the bag off of my back and began to search for the knife Marlene had given me.

I couldn't have packed that much stuff, but for the life of me I couldn't find it.

"Get away from her you son of a bitch," I heard Lee yell. I looked up briefly then continued to look for my knife.

There was more snarling. It continued for a while and then a shot fired from inside the store. Then it was quiet. Carley.

I looked up and saw her staring down the barrel of her gun, trembling slightly. The walker had been so close to Lee's face. It was a close shot, but a good one.

"You okay," she asked.

"Just fine. Thanks."

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked back. It was Marlene.

"Reign," she said and gently nudged my hip.

"What?"

She looked down briefly and nudged my hip again. I understood then.

My knife was still strapped to my belt.

I'm so stupid.

"Uh…guys," Glenn whispered.

The walkers outside began to pound and scratch on the boarded up windows from the outside. The noise from the gunshot must've attracted them. But I don't see how all of the yelling didn't.

"Everybody down! Stay quiet," Lilly whispered.

Everyone began to duck down behind the shelves, counters, and tables in the store.

"They're gonna get in," Larry hissed.

"Shut. Up." Kenny snapped.

Gunfire suddenly began to sound from outside the store. It was faint but we heard it.

And so did the walkers. The banging stopped and the snarls from outside began to die down.

"Is that the military," Lee asked, Clementine clinging to his shirt.

"Well, thank god for whatever it is," Glenn said.

Larry shot up and proceeded to rant and rave again.

"We almost died because of that bitch and her itchy trigger finger! That was stupid! That was—"

Larry suddenly began to clutch chest a look of pain spreading over his face. He fell to the ground and began to groan in pain.

"Dad!"

"Was he the one bitten," Lee asked.

"No! Don't be crazy! It's his heart!"

"My pills," Larry choked out.

"Nitroglycerin pills," Katjaa asked.

"Yes but we're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here! Please, someone get in there!"

Lee sighed and said, "We'll get in there somehow."

We began to get acquainted with one another as Kenny began to give instructions. Lilly tended to her father.

It was then that Glenn offered to go out and scavenge for supplies and gas for Kenny's truck. Marlene offered to go with him because it wasn't safe to go out alone these days. Lee gave him one of Clementine's walkie talkie's incase he needed something.

For a while it felt like I was lingering with nothing to do. I had nothing to contribute. Lee began to make his way around the store to check on everybody, including me. Our talk was brief. I wasn't exactly open to conversation at the moment.

When Lee went into the office with Clem to look for a way into the pharmacy, I followed. I needed to talk more.

"Sorry. I just really need to feel like I'm contributing."

"No problem," Lee replied.

A look of sorrow washed over his face as he looked around the office. There was a sleeping bag soaked in blood in the middle of the office floor. The stains became faint as it looked as though someone had been dragged out the backdoor. The windows were boarded up and a shelf was propped up against the door. There was a smashed picture frame on the floor.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath.

"Were you close to them," I asked. "I was a student at the university you used to teach at, before…"

He sighed.

"They were good people," he replied picking up an old cane. "Looks like they came in here hoping to survive but one of them must've been hurt. Probably my dad, always trying to be the hero."

"So where is your wife now," I asked.

"I don't know. I was on my way to prison when everything started to fall apart," he whispered.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Do the others know about what you did?"

"One or two of them might but I haven't really had a chance to talk about it with anyone. I hardly know these people and the last thing I need to do is give them a reason to not trust me."

"I see," I replied. "Well just in case you didn't notice, we're kind of being mistaken as your daughters by quite a few people."

"Oh, so now I have two kids," he said in amusement.

"Very funny, Mr. Everett."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he laughed. "I probably should set the record straight but if I'm being honest, I've always wanted kids of my own."

He sighed.

"Well I'll leave you to it. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

I made my way to exit the office.

"Hey…uh."

"It's Reign."

"Reign. There is something you could do. I can't take Clementine everywhere I go. There are some places that are just too dangerous for her. I'd appreciate if you would look out for her whenever I'm not around."

"I can do that."

"Thanks."

I left the office and leaned against one of the shelves in the store. Before I knew it I was dozing off.

* * *

It must've been about a 10-minute nap. I woke and Clementine and Lee were no longer in the office. Then we heard Glenn speak over Clementine's walkie.

"Hey there, it's Glenn here. I'm in a bit of a jam. Little girl if you're there, can you put your daddy on the phone or talkie."

Clementine handed Lee the talkie.

"Glenn?"

"Hey Lee. So…I'm down at the motor inn and well I'm stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah I saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a few of the roaming ones got the jump on me. I'm hiding but they won't leave."

"What about Marlene," I asked aloud. "Where is she?"

"I saw her run into one of the rooms and lock the door but I can't see her," he replied.

"Sit tight Glenn," Lee said. "We'll send a group to come get you."

"Thanks."

Lee and Carley offered to go and left within a few minutes. I stayed true to my word and watched Clementine.

"You doing okay," I asked.

"Sort of. It's just my parents," Clementine whispered.

"What about them?"

"Well they went on a trip to Savannah and left me with a sitter. We're on our way there but any time I mention it to Lee, he starts acting strange and gets this weird look on his face."

From what Lee told me her parents were more than likely dead. He said he had heard all of the voice mails her parents left when he went to her house for help. I know she had a right to know but I knew it wasn't my place to tell her.

"Maybe he's just worried about getting there. There are a lot of dangerous things around now. He wants to keep you safe."

Clementine swung her feet back and forth and looked down.

"I will tell you this, at least you know where your parents are. Mine are all the way in another state. They are in Texas. And Texas is so big."

She laughed a little.

"I haven't seen my parents in months. I barely remember what they look like. I guess I should be worried. Normally my parents come and protect me before anything bad happens. I remember my dad drove 15 hours to Georgia just to take me to a storm shelter when a really bad storm was on the way."

"But I'm sure your parents are fine," I said. I could tell her the truth. I could tell her that Lee heard her parent's last words over a voicemail system. I was a terrible liar. But I wasn't about to break this Clementine's spirit. It was Lee's choice to tell her. I just hope he breaks the news with care when he does.

She gave a small nod and smiled.

I hopped up on the counter next to Clementine and propped my elbows on my legs to rest my chin in my palms. I felt a light tug on a strand of my hair. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Clementine tugging on a single kinky curl, stretching it a bit, and watching it bounce back.

"My mom has hair like yours," she said absent-mindedly. "Accept it's bigger."

"Your hair isn't too different from mine," I replied.

"No," she pouted a little. "Mine isn't as big. My mom wanted me to grow it out but it takes forever. And I don't like when she has to comb my hair. It hurts."

"Well that's how it always seems at first. But your hair is longer than you think it is."

I grabbed a tiny strand of her hair and stretched it a few inches past her shoulders. Then I let it bounce back.

"Don't let shrinkage fool you," I said.

* * *

Lee, Glenn, and Carley returned about a half an hour later. There was blood splattered on their faces and Glenn looked distraught.

"Everything all right," I asked Lee.

Lee then explained that they had tried to save a girl that had been trapped by some walkers in one of the rooms. They "saved" her but she had been bitten and locked herself in the room so she couldn't hurt anyone. He said the girl stole Carleys gun so she could end it herself. They tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen.

"I should try and find that key. There's no time to waste."

Lee handed Clementine a granola bar. She took the wrapper off and broke it in half to share with me. I nibbled on the small piece of granola bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Marlene waving me over. I sighed and hopped off the counter to see what she wanted.

"What is it?"

"So, I've been thinking. We should head back to Hershel's farm and ask for a second chance," she offered.

"Marlene," I exclaimed. "Are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious."

"No, we're not leaving," I snapped.

"Reign, we had a solid hook up back at the farm."

"And it's gone now," I said. "We ruined it. And we can't ask Hershel to welcome us with open arms after we sat back and did nothing to prevent his son's death."

I saw the guilt in her eyes at the mention of Shawn's death.

"Besides, how would we even get there? We don't have a car. We don't have a map. We're out of food. And we don't know how to protect ourselves. And it's not like Hershel can hide the fact that his son died."

"If Joey and Lance knew why Hershel kicked us off his farm do you honestly think they could tolerate us, or even look at us the same, knowing what we did," I asked.

"Well it's better than staying holed up in a dingy old drugstore forever," she muttered under her breath.

"Marlene, this place is not permanent."

"Are you sure about that," she tested. "Because Lilly and her dad sure were pissed about Carley and Glenn letting us in? For fucks sake there is a lock on the fence that no one knows the combo to."

"Marlene, I really don't wanna talk about this right-"

I was cut off by the sound of an alarm bell ringing throughout the store. I saw Glenn run past me and grabbed his arm.

"What's going on?"

"Lee found the keys to the pharmacy. But he must've set off the alarm. He cut the lock off the gate to get them. We gotta leave now."

* * *

 **A/N: New chapter!**

 **Please leave reviews!**

 **There is a poll posted on my profile for how the events of the next chapter will play out. Please vote if you want to have a say.**

 **The poll will close on June 3, 2017. If there are not at least 5 votes on the poll by the time I close it, the poll will be disregarded and I will pick who survives at random.**


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